Marc Le Menestrel

Corruption & Obedience (Case Study and Discussion) (Seminar 9, June 7, 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2017-05-31T09:32:59Z

Summary

As a newly appointed manager of a pharmaceutical company in China faces the issue of kickbacks to Doctors in order to boost sales, he is not very sure about the practices and the consequences of carrying out what could be interpreted as a form of corruption. How should he behave in such a situation? Why? We follow this case study with a discussion on corruption, its perception, methods and consequences.

Required reading

Butler, Charlotte & de Bettignies, Henri-Claude. “Blue Monday (R)”, Insead and CEIBS Case Study, 2009.

Watch this 40 min video about the Milgram Experiment.

Reflect on it and look for additional information about the experiment and obedience in general.

Assignment: Answer the two questions at the end of the case.

Advice: Think a bit by yourself and then browse the Internet to learn about what happened in the recent years to pharmaceutical companies in China about corruption and use it to build a more refined assignment.

Optional Readings

De George, Richard. “ Ethics, Corruption, and Doing Business in Asia”, in Asia Pacific Journal of Economics & Business, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1997), pp. 39-52.

Anand, V., Ashforth, B.E., and Joshi, M. (2004) “Business as usual: the acceptance and perpetuation of corruption in organizations”, Academy of Management Executive, 18 (2): 39-53.

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Business and Global Environmental Issues: The Oil Industry and Climate Change (Seminar 7 with Discussion, May 24, 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2017-05-15T14:37:14Z

What strategy can a major company design and implement in the face of global environmental issues? In this case-study about oil industry and climate change, we identify different types of strategies and implementation tactics, with a specific emphasis on communication strategies.

We then discuss in details the strategies of three multinational oil corporations in the face of climate change: ExxonMobil, TotalFinaElf and BP Amoco. We emphasize the similarities and the differences among strategies, in particular in the communicational and managerial dimensions.

Finally, we discuss how the Peak Oil theory can help us to understand the strategies of Oil companies.

Preparation (required)

Please fill in a survey about decisions that have implications for the natural environment. It is important that you do it well and it takes about 45 minutes.

Case-Study (Required

van den Hove, S., Le Menestrel, M. & de Bettignies, H.-C. (2002): “The oil industry and climate change: strategies and ethical dilemmas.” Climate Policy 2(1): 3-19.

Preparation 300-500 words

How do you think oil companies influence the policy of climate change today?

Optional readings

George Monbiot (2014). It's simple. If we can't change our economic system, our number's up. The Guardian, Tuesday 27 May 2014

James Murray & David King (2012). Oil's tipping point has passed. Nature 481, 433–435.

David J. Murphy (2012). Fossil fuels: Peak oil is affecting the economy already. Nature 483, 541-541

Pedro de Almeida & Pedro D. Silva (2011), Timing and future consequences of the peak of oil production. Futures 43.

Alexandra Witze (2007). Energy: That's oil, folks... Nature 445, 14-17

Michael Lardelli (2007). Scientists need to confront economists about peak oil. Nature 446, 257-257

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Essay methodology for critical thinking and writing

Estève Giraud — 2016-07-18T10:11:00Z

Writing the weekly essays for the course is a real challenge. It requires you to be on top of the assigned readings, and preferably of the suggested ones. External serious sources are also valued, and we ask you to write a clear, synthesized and well argumented opinion. Of course, all of this has to fit in a calendar already busy with other courses assignments, work or internship, and personal life.

For many students, this appears to be a tedious process through which it is hard to get the desired outcome: a good grade.

If you scrolled this page with the hope of finding a short and easy recipe to get a good grade in your IBP assignments, this might be a disappointment. However, if you are looking for a practical exercise which will help you to build intellectual muscles, which can help you to write your assignments more and more efficiently over time; this article is for you.

To practice properly, you need to start working at least two days before the day you write the essay you will submit.

On the first day, you should simply try to write your opinion as clearly as possible, and then read the assigned readings making an analysis of the opinion and arguments of the authors to enrich that opinion.

On the second day, imagine you are a completely different person, take the opposite opinion to yours, and argument for it.

On the third day, write now what will be your refined and expanded opinion, using your writing from the two previous days.

The attached pdf "IBP methodology of essays" gives you a detailed explanation.

Surely this will seem like a long process to many of you, and you might want to do it all in a row to save yourself time. According to my experience, this is not the most efficient way to do it because the brain needs time to think through complex political, economical and social issues, weight arguments and select the right words. You might want to think about this exercise like a workout routine: discipline and regularity foster your strength and flexibility.

Guest Lecture on the Environment (Monday 15th of May 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2016-04-24T13:53:34Z

Mathieu spent his first 10 years working in multinational organizations from various sectors in France, USA and Spain. He has built a deep understanding of organizational development within the “business as usual” paradigm. He moved to Barcelona in 2004, and decided since then to learn and practice CSR within different department into his former company and developed a high level of enthusiasm for managing people. In 2010, he co-funded Ecodigma in order to facilitate strategic planning towards sustainability through system thinking and collective intelligence methodology. He's regularly facilitating workshop away from Spain most of them for a French company recognized as an R&D innovation center in Collective Intelligence. He's Vice president of the The Natural Step Association in Barcelona and an active member of TNS Network, co-organizing events in Spain and France. He has taught sustainable design in both UOC and UPF.
You can reached me at mathieu.durrande see more (spanish only)

Mathieu Durrande

Assignment

1. Look at the following 3 short videos:

Let the environment guide our development

What is sustainability (Part 1 & 2)

Part 1- Sustainability: scientific & simple definition

Part 2 - 4 root causes of unsustainability?

2. What principles strikes you the most? Why? (bring your prep in class)

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Expressing your opinion (Seminar 1, April 5, 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2016-03-08T08:43:55Z

Preparatory exercise: (300 words to be handed in in class)

Choose one question raised during the introductory lecture and write down your opinion about it. Express also why you hold that opinion and be prepared to express it in public.

If you want to change your seminar's group, please use the forum below. You must find someone willing to switch from the one you want to the one you are in! Once you are a pair willing to switch, please come to me for the official registration change! Thank you.

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Thinking our Natural Environment (Experiential Seminar with Discussion, May 17, 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2015-04-22T13:26:02Z

Summary

With a series of videos and plays, we learn to "think like the earth" and have a systemic thinking of our natural environment.

Required Videos

Watch a few of the following videos from Conservation International:

Nature Is Speaking – Julia Roberts

Nature Is Speaking – Penélope Cruz is Water

Nature Is Speaking – Harrison Ford is The Ocean

Nature Is Speaking – Lupita Nyong'o is Flower

Nature Is Speaking – Edward Norton is The Soil

Nature Is Speaking – Kevin Spacey is The Rainforest

Assignment to be submitted when arriving in class

Choose a part of nature that inspires you. Thinking as if you were this part of nature, write a powerful and beautiful text about what you want to say. The text shall last between 1 and 2 minutes. Learn your text by heart.

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Dreaming and Deciding your life (Seminar 10, discussion with experiential exercise, June 14, 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2014-05-22T10:56:21Z

In this session, we experience an integrated form of decision-making where the heart and soul enrich the cognitive processes.

Reason alone is not sufficient for taking the best decisions. In a world of profound transformation, a purely intellectual approach may even crowd out our most important values and lead us to unexpected negative consequences. At the individual level, or at the company level, it is becoming a must to integrate our values, emotions, imagination and intuition into our decision making.

Teaching to take better decisions becomes experiential as participants are actors of their learning process. Intimate dialogues, respectful conversations, meditation and day-dreaming techniques are typical examples of processes that open minds and hearts towards taking the decisions that a situation may require. Guided visualization exercises are especially useful to clarify and empower our dream beyond our goal and to ensure continuity and value of the process.

Preparation (15 minutes)

Take 15 minutes of your time that you spend in a place where you feel safe and comfortable. Remembering people, places or experiences of your past, connect with who you were before becoming the student you are now and ask to yourself, “What were my dreams about university?”. Write down a few words about them.

Assignment (300-500 words)

What did you learn from this course? How can this be useful for your professional life and/or your life in general?

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We Dream Business (Lecture 7 with Students' Presentations, June 12, 2017)

Marc Le Menestrel — 2012-04-27T11:26:22Z

Groups upload on the WeDreamBusiness.org website an inspiring example of a business

Prepare with your group an inspiring example of an existing business that makes you dream because it successfully combines the creation of economic values with the promotion of ethical values.

Note you have one 1 (one) minute to present using only the WDB website!

Required Reading

Kelly, Marjorie : "Not Just for Profits", Strategy and Business magazine, spring 2009.

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Introduction: Is Business Ethical? (Lecture 1, April 3, 2017)

2012-04-16T07:50:45Z

In this first meeting, the course and course method will be explained. Additionally, it will be communicated to students how to achieve a successful participation and learning outcome. An overview of the topics to be dealt with will be provided and students will be sensitized to the issues we will be touching upon.

Required readings

Banaji, M.R., Bazerman, M. H., & D. Chugh: “How (Un)Ethical Are You?”, Harvard Business Review, December 2003

Chandler, Geoffrey. The global corporation: provider or parasite? Amnesty International UK Business Group.

Slides for download (.ppt)

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Please use the forum below to post a message and find a substitute. Write to me once you have a pair of students willing to switch!

Ideas for WeDreamBusiness.Org

Marc Le Menestrel — 2011-05-13T08:20:45Z

El Peix al Plat es un proyecto que surge desde las inquietudes de sus miembros, profesionales relacionados con el ámbito del mar, ante el estado de elevada explotación que sufren los recursos marinos y la manera que tenemos como consumidores de escoger el pescado que comemos.

3 Indian ideas that have come true from a former INSEAD MBA students:

Thermomix, a company with only one product, designed to last as long as possible...

SoL España, Sociedad para el Aprendizaje Organizativo, es una comunidad sin ánimo de lucro, abierta a personas e instituciones en España que comparten un interés por desarrollar las competencias para el aprendizaje organizativo necesarias para conseguir cambios fundamentales en las personas y sus organizaciones. Para saber más, visita http://www.solspain.org

Note: If you plan to carry on with one of these ideas, use the forum to inform other students, so that they don't pick it too!!!